Alumna works with Nilus to reduce food waste

Carolina Chantril’s, MUP ’15, newest endeavor with Nilus seeks to mitigate food waste and malnourishment in Argentina, where 16 million tons of food are wasted annually. She is focused on developing a technological and collaborative platform designed to rescue and distribute a huge amount of food. Nilus acknowledges that plenty of wasted food (in perfect condition for consumption) is thrown out every year. Rather than throw it away, the company brings it to those who need it the most: social kitchens and shelters.

The initiative takes its name from the Nile River, where the first model of collaborative agriculture was born on a significant scale.

How does Nilus work? A donor notifies the company via an app about the availability of food products. When a social kitchen or shelter requests these products, an alert is sent to private drivers in the area. The drivers then accept the trip and get paid for transporting the food from the donor site to the beneficiary.

This model represents a win-win for all parties. The food is taken away at no cost to the donor, social kitchens and shelters pay a symbolic price for each kilogram of food they receive (on average, 10 times less than if they buy it from a grocery store), and the drivers are paid for the service they provide.